Tuesday, 23 July 2013

Fragrant with a chewy texture, high in fiber, low in fat; a forest fungi, a fave of mine since I was a child!

Fresh Porcini mushrooms here in Toronto I have yet to see.

Generally we have to buy them dry.

They must sit in hot water to reconstitute and although the fragrance is unmistakeable the texture is never quite the same as fresh.

My uncle used to forage for them after heavy rains when I was a child and I would eat a plateful of them, knowing I had to have my fill since I couldn't get them fresh at home.

In Italy you have to have a license to be able to "hunt" for mushrooms as the wrong one can be fatal!

Weekly and sometimes daily during my trip in Italy, I had fresh porcini mushrooms on my pasta, pizza, risotto and sometimes just a plate by themselves.

On my pizza I had shaved truffles with Porcini!

My last week in Italy I had them daily!

Heaven!!!

The Linguini above was my sister in law homemade egg pasta.

Should I mention they grind their own wheat?

MMMhhh~

The 'shrooms are courtesy of my nephews future father in law who forages for them when it rains.Although he promised to take me, it rained shortly before I came home and they need days before they grow and are ready to be picked.Sadly, I didn't get a chance to forage through the forest.

Forestry laws only allow licensed individuals to pick certain foods al bosco (from the forest) on certain days and they can only pick so many by weight to allow for a proper ecosystem.

So, if you know what to look for you can literally live and eat from mother earth!

This recipe is so simple and can be easily replicated using your favourite mushroom.If you can afford dried Porcini, reconstitute them in a cup of hot water, then squeeze the water out and chop.

This basket of Porcini mushrooms were out at the front of a restaurant as we walked by through the streets of Ancient Rome.I couldn't resist and grabbed one to smell the fragrance. The waiter was soon right beside me in case I made off with them.

Thursday, 18 July 2013

La Campagnia, rural farmland where you have everything needed, grown and raised from the earth.

Rich soil produces wonderful berries and vegetables fragrant and full of bursting flavor.

Fruit growing abundantly on their trees, you could pick them off the trees and bushes ripe everyday.

So much abundance that it can easily be made into jam and used in desserts.

This dessert come from my Sister in law who utilizes everything from the garden, including scraps which feed their chickens and roosters!

She is so tiny, I often wondered how she managed to bring hay to the goats daily using a heavy wheel barrow!

This recipe is low in fat. A soft dough, not quite a cookie and not fluffy like a sponge cake. It is fragrant, using wholesome lemons from my Godmothers trees. It is without fuss, as so many Italian dishes are, and it so delicious.

The jam in this recipe, is made with her fathers vine grown grapes!

2 eggs

8 tbsp. sugar

6 tbsp. oil

1 lemon, zested and juiced

1/2 envelope Pane del Angeli (leavening)

320kg flour + extra for rolling

1/2 jar your favourite jam

Confectioner's sugar: for sprinkling

In a medium size bowl mix together the eggs, sugar, oil and lemon zest and juice, until well blended and thick.

Stir in flour and leavening powder (can be found in specialty isle).

Dough will be ragged and in pieces. Scrape it out of the bowl onto a floured surface and begin to knead gently together to form a ball.

Continue to fold one end over another, it will be slightly sticky. Rub off hands using some flour and continue mixing to a soft dough.

Using a floured rolling pin, roll out 2/3 of the dough onto a 9"x9" piece of parchment paper.

This will be the bottom part of the crostata and will enable you to lift it onto the 8"x8" baking pan.

Place the rolled out dough into the baking sheet, with 1" edges up the side of the pan

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